Just some thoughts while contemplating the changes in the FedEx Cup qualifying system for the 2009 PGA Tour season.
The first thought I have about the FedEx points system is that it might be a moot point. The European PGA Tour has stolen some of the PGA Tour’s thunder with their Race to Dubai. The Euros (with help from the Dubai sheiks) have doubled up on the FedEx Cup by posting a $20 million bonus at the end. By the way, instead of the intricate points system trying to be employed on these shores, the Euros are relying on their Order of Merit (that’s money list). Gee, what a novel idea, but isn’t it too simple?
There’s an unwritten rule in professional golf. If you put $20 million on the table, they will come. The first player of note who said he’d adjust his schedule to attempt to qualify for Dubai was Phil Mickelson. Of course he said something about enhancing his career by becoming more of an international player. Right, and if someone would put up $30 million for a series on the moon, he’d play to enhance his career by becoming more of an intergalactic player.
The problem with being the first to admit he’s succumbed to the golden glow is you take the first hit. There will be others and you can count on it. The system works in favor of the players. The four WGC events count to the 12 event minimum as do the four majors. That leaves four appearances. Since the 2009 season begins in less than a month, look for some PGA Tour players to get a head start in the early part of the European schedule. Many of the Americans travel to Scotland to play the Scottish Open at Loch Lomond the week prior to the British Open, so in effect the PGA Tour members who could challenge in Dubai won’t have to alter their schedule that much. It should be interesting.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
This week in the first two rounds of PGA Tour Q-School First Stage competition, Miami’s Erik Compton opened with a disappointing 76 and a 75. Maybe the scores aren’t great, but the effort is out of this world.
Five months ago, Compton underwent heart transplant surgery—his second. He has the spirit of a champion, maybe now he has the heart, or at least one that will last. Hopefully, Compton will be able to recharge his professional career which included a stint on the Nationwide Tour following a successful campaign on the Canadian Tour. Compton turned professional following a successful collegiate career at Georgia.
Will Compton finally realize his dream of making it to the PGA Tour? The odds say no, but I don’t think he reads the morning line. He’s a 28-year old golfer with his third heart. He’s been defying the odds since his first transplant at age 12. How can you tell him no.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
This past year was supposedly going to be Annika Sorenstam’s “Retirement Tour.” Now, one of the greatest woman players of all time is hedging her bet. Sorenstam, who will marry in January, had planned to put her clubs into mothballs following a tournament in China. Now, she says she might just go into hiatus.
Her plans as far as marrying and starting a family remain in tact, but now she says that depending how she feels and her situations work out, she may consider a return. Normally, this corner would have untoward remarks about waffling like this. However, given the class and dignity she has brought to the game, we can only wish her the best.
Bartender, a glass of European red wine, perhaps an Italian vintage if you will. It appears I might be spending some time on the continent over the next year.
See you on the first tee,
Jack
Showing posts with label PGA. Show all posts
Showing posts with label PGA. Show all posts
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Seve
It’s Wednesday Oct. 15, 2008. In a Madrid hospital, Seve Ballesteros is recovering from brain surgery to remove a tumor. You can count on two things on following a surgical procedure. The doctor never says anything other than surgery was successful and he/she never issues a specific time line for recovery.
Realizing this, we can only hope for a complete and speedy recovery for one of the most charismatic golfers of all time. Personally, I fondly remember the day Ballesteros was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame. Praise for how he won his first British Open championship by hitting a tournament-saving shot from a parking lot, how he almost singlehandedly raised the European Tour from the ashes, how he resurrected the Ryder Cup flowed like fine Spanish wine. I remember that day, but moreover I remember a day, or moreover a week in 1983.
It was March of ’83 and the place was the Sea Turtle Inn in Jacksonville Beach, Fla. It was Tuesday morning and I’d arrived at the hotel the previous evening after driving from 18 miles north of Boston over the weekend. Being that this was the first Tournament Players Championship that I covered, I was placed in the media hotel as far away from the course as possible.
That explained why I was there. I never found out why Seve was staying there. Regardless, as I entered the lobby that morning, the first person I recognized was Seve. He was pacing the lobby waiting for a courtesy car to pick him up and take him to the course. (This was before the players were issued cars to transport themselves). Since I was headed to the course, I introduced myself to the Spaniard and offered him a lift. With a perceptible sigh of relief, he accepted.
Due to traffic, it was a solid 30-minute ride to the TPC Sawgrass. During the ride, I found Seve to be humorous, charming and apparently a great guy. Then something happened. As I turned the corner to head up the road to the clubhouse, it felt as if the temperature in the car had dropped 20-degrees. I pulled up to the front of the clubhouse and as soon as I stopped, Seve bolted from the car. There wasn’t a “thanks for the ride” or even an acknowledgment that I was alive. He just got out and almost ran into the clubhouse. Okay, my ego didn’t demand any acknowledgment, but I thought it strange.
The next morning brought a close duplicate. I saw him in the lobby, offered a ride, was entertained on the ride and then it happened again. The guy who’d been in my car disappeared and was replaced by an iceberg. This time I asked what was up.
“I’m in my office now,” he said. “I wouldn’t come in the press room while you’re writing and bother you. I expect the same.”
I’d dealt with many professional athletes prior to that day and some of them more famous than Seve, but I’d never seen that level of intensity that could be turned on as quickly before or since. Since then, I’ve seen the jovial Seve and I’ve seen the other as well. To be honest, I prefer the former. I can say this. I’ve never seen an athlete who brings more to the table as far as determination to win.
Having said that should he bring that level of determination to his recovery program, he’ll be up and around in no time.
Bartender, a couple of tall, cool glasses of sangria for Seve and myself as I toast his health. Salud mi amigo, salud!
See you on the first tee,
Jack
Realizing this, we can only hope for a complete and speedy recovery for one of the most charismatic golfers of all time. Personally, I fondly remember the day Ballesteros was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame. Praise for how he won his first British Open championship by hitting a tournament-saving shot from a parking lot, how he almost singlehandedly raised the European Tour from the ashes, how he resurrected the Ryder Cup flowed like fine Spanish wine. I remember that day, but moreover I remember a day, or moreover a week in 1983.
It was March of ’83 and the place was the Sea Turtle Inn in Jacksonville Beach, Fla. It was Tuesday morning and I’d arrived at the hotel the previous evening after driving from 18 miles north of Boston over the weekend. Being that this was the first Tournament Players Championship that I covered, I was placed in the media hotel as far away from the course as possible.
That explained why I was there. I never found out why Seve was staying there. Regardless, as I entered the lobby that morning, the first person I recognized was Seve. He was pacing the lobby waiting for a courtesy car to pick him up and take him to the course. (This was before the players were issued cars to transport themselves). Since I was headed to the course, I introduced myself to the Spaniard and offered him a lift. With a perceptible sigh of relief, he accepted.
Due to traffic, it was a solid 30-minute ride to the TPC Sawgrass. During the ride, I found Seve to be humorous, charming and apparently a great guy. Then something happened. As I turned the corner to head up the road to the clubhouse, it felt as if the temperature in the car had dropped 20-degrees. I pulled up to the front of the clubhouse and as soon as I stopped, Seve bolted from the car. There wasn’t a “thanks for the ride” or even an acknowledgment that I was alive. He just got out and almost ran into the clubhouse. Okay, my ego didn’t demand any acknowledgment, but I thought it strange.
The next morning brought a close duplicate. I saw him in the lobby, offered a ride, was entertained on the ride and then it happened again. The guy who’d been in my car disappeared and was replaced by an iceberg. This time I asked what was up.
“I’m in my office now,” he said. “I wouldn’t come in the press room while you’re writing and bother you. I expect the same.”
I’d dealt with many professional athletes prior to that day and some of them more famous than Seve, but I’d never seen that level of intensity that could be turned on as quickly before or since. Since then, I’ve seen the jovial Seve and I’ve seen the other as well. To be honest, I prefer the former. I can say this. I’ve never seen an athlete who brings more to the table as far as determination to win.
Having said that should he bring that level of determination to his recovery program, he’ll be up and around in no time.
Bartender, a couple of tall, cool glasses of sangria for Seve and myself as I toast his health. Salud mi amigo, salud!
See you on the first tee,
Jack
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Will the economy crisis affect the Tours?
With financial institutions falling by the wayside on a daily basis, the entire country is in an upheaval. I realize this isn’t a political blog and we can all be thankful for that. However, this is a golf blog and mention of failing financial institutions is apropos in this instance.
A quick look at the PGA Tour schedule reveals 10 tournaments that have financial institutions as title sponsors. This number doesn’t include those that are sponsors on a lesser level. In a cliché, “Houston we have a problem.”
This number also doesn’t include the Champions and Nationwide tours who have a couple of title sponsors apiece. In fact, Bank of America that has sponsored a Champions Tour event in Massachusetts and is the longest running tournament (under different titles) on the elder bracket having been on the schedule since year one. They bailed out before this year’s event.
A quick look at the LPGA and the Duramed Futures schedules showed that they also have two financial title sponsors each. While we bet that in the past, they were disappointed that they only had two title sponsors from the financial community; today they must be breathing a sigh of relief.
The truth is title sponsorship carries an awesome fiduciary responsibility that far surpasses the purse. First and foremost, the title sponsor is most often responsible for the TV time. This means they either must fill the commercial time with their own commercials, or make sure the time is sold. In the past, this meant filling the weekend slots. Now, with The Golf Channel and others broadcasting the first two rounds, the financial responsibility has grown exponentially.
While the nuts and bolts of the bailout bill are being hammered out in Congress, you can be sure the midnight oil is being burned in Ponte Vedra and Daytona, Florida. It would be a shock if any of the financial institutions will have the nerve to retain sponsorship of a golf tournament. I think they’ll go the way of Ford, who sponsored the Players Championship on the Champions Tour as well as Doral on the PGA Tour. Not only did they drop those sponsorships, they pulled the plug on a very lucrative deal with Phil Mickelson when they started closing plants and laying off workers.
The cold hard facts are that these financial institutions will have a difficult time justifying these tremendous expenditures. If you couple that with a failing economy it’s obvious that the professional tours have a definite problem. Don’t be surprised if tournament schedules are a bit shorter next year.
The one thing the PGA Tours have going for them in this instance (and I hate to say it) is Commissioner Tim Finchem. If you find yourself in a political turmoil, you need a politician to get you out of it. Enter Timmie. In a past life, Finchem was a lobbyist on Capitol Hill. These skills alone may come in handy in preserving the schedule. However, I seriously wonder if he’ll be able to maintain the purse structure. It should be interesting.
***********
Last weekend was the Tour Championship and the coronation of Vijay Singh as the King of the FedEx Cup and no one except Singh and his accountant and probably his caddie cared. Next year, there will be another version and another system. Maybe they’ll finally get it right if that is at all possible, but I really doubt it. The FedEx Cup was meant to mimic the NASCAR Race to the Chase. Thus far, it’s been nothing short of a monument to greed. It’s tough to justify a $10 million payoff with a faulty product. I would be shocked if FedEx renews the contract.
Unfortunately for the Tour, the FedEx contract expires the same time the current TV contract expires. Those could be dark days for the Tour.
Bartender, make my next one pure H2O straight from the tap. Times being as tough as they are, it’s time to tighten the purse strings you know.
See you on the first tee,
Jack
A quick look at the PGA Tour schedule reveals 10 tournaments that have financial institutions as title sponsors. This number doesn’t include those that are sponsors on a lesser level. In a cliché, “Houston we have a problem.”
This number also doesn’t include the Champions and Nationwide tours who have a couple of title sponsors apiece. In fact, Bank of America that has sponsored a Champions Tour event in Massachusetts and is the longest running tournament (under different titles) on the elder bracket having been on the schedule since year one. They bailed out before this year’s event.
A quick look at the LPGA and the Duramed Futures schedules showed that they also have two financial title sponsors each. While we bet that in the past, they were disappointed that they only had two title sponsors from the financial community; today they must be breathing a sigh of relief.
The truth is title sponsorship carries an awesome fiduciary responsibility that far surpasses the purse. First and foremost, the title sponsor is most often responsible for the TV time. This means they either must fill the commercial time with their own commercials, or make sure the time is sold. In the past, this meant filling the weekend slots. Now, with The Golf Channel and others broadcasting the first two rounds, the financial responsibility has grown exponentially.
While the nuts and bolts of the bailout bill are being hammered out in Congress, you can be sure the midnight oil is being burned in Ponte Vedra and Daytona, Florida. It would be a shock if any of the financial institutions will have the nerve to retain sponsorship of a golf tournament. I think they’ll go the way of Ford, who sponsored the Players Championship on the Champions Tour as well as Doral on the PGA Tour. Not only did they drop those sponsorships, they pulled the plug on a very lucrative deal with Phil Mickelson when they started closing plants and laying off workers.
The cold hard facts are that these financial institutions will have a difficult time justifying these tremendous expenditures. If you couple that with a failing economy it’s obvious that the professional tours have a definite problem. Don’t be surprised if tournament schedules are a bit shorter next year.
The one thing the PGA Tours have going for them in this instance (and I hate to say it) is Commissioner Tim Finchem. If you find yourself in a political turmoil, you need a politician to get you out of it. Enter Timmie. In a past life, Finchem was a lobbyist on Capitol Hill. These skills alone may come in handy in preserving the schedule. However, I seriously wonder if he’ll be able to maintain the purse structure. It should be interesting.
***********
Last weekend was the Tour Championship and the coronation of Vijay Singh as the King of the FedEx Cup and no one except Singh and his accountant and probably his caddie cared. Next year, there will be another version and another system. Maybe they’ll finally get it right if that is at all possible, but I really doubt it. The FedEx Cup was meant to mimic the NASCAR Race to the Chase. Thus far, it’s been nothing short of a monument to greed. It’s tough to justify a $10 million payoff with a faulty product. I would be shocked if FedEx renews the contract.
Unfortunately for the Tour, the FedEx contract expires the same time the current TV contract expires. Those could be dark days for the Tour.
Bartender, make my next one pure H2O straight from the tap. Times being as tough as they are, it’s time to tighten the purse strings you know.
See you on the first tee,
Jack
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Angry Golfer says *** NO *** asterisks
I’ve got to admit that I’m getting pretty damned tired of hearing all this talk about putting asterisk next to Padraig Harrington’s name when listing his British Open and PGA Championship titles this year because those majors were Tigerless. Please show me the written guarantee that Woods would have won, or that he would have been in the mix in the final round. It was never etched in stone.
Having said that, would you ever imagine putting an asterisk next to Tiger’s name in a Major where Harrington wasn’t in the field? Of course not, both scenarios are ludicrous.
One thing that isn’t ludicrous is wondering how much of a factor Woods will be when he returns. Last reports are that he won’t even consider swinging a club until 2009. He’s planning his return at the 2009 Masters. Will he be a factor then? If anyone could be under those circumstances, it would be Tiger, but common sense today says bet on the Irish kid to be wearin’ of the green…jacket that is next April.
The golf world, most notably TV and the PGA Tour must consider the unthinkable. Tiger Woods may return as a mortal golfer. Knees aren’t constructed to withstand the pressure he puts on BOTH of knees in his current swing. The swing has to change. Sure he’s changed his swing before, but the changes were always to add power, not protect his body.
Tiger will always be a great golfer. He has the credentials already that have already cemented his place in golf history. Hopefully, we won’t look back at the 2008 U.S. Open and wonder what he could have been if it hadn’t have been for that knee.
****
In the past this corner has been somewhat critical of Sergio Garcia and his attitude. He has placed blame for his shortcomings in Majors on everyone but the locker room attendant. Following his runner up finish in the PGA Championship to the aforementioned Harrington, Sergio took full responsibility for his failings.
Normally, we could have counted on him blaming the terrible second shot he hit on the 16th in the final round that crossed the hazard then backed up into the water on any number of things, i.e. poor course setup, a sudden gale in his face, or the ever popular the gallery was against me. Instead, he admitted that he hit a poor shot.
That’s a start. He’s now closer than ever to having a winning attitude needed to succeed in Major championships. Unfortunately, he still can’t putt well enough to win a Major. By the way, I have a long standing rule. If a Major is won by a player using either a long putter or a belly putter, that tournament is no longer considered a Major. Both those style putters are a form of cheating. The only thing that should touch a club is the player’s hands and those hands shouldn’t be anchored by the torso.
***
Pardon me while I legend drop. I happened to bump into Jack Nicklaus at a function earlier this week and an old subject that we were polarized on was recalled. A decade ago, Jack spoke fervently about the need for the golf ball to be rolled back so that it wouldn’t go as far.
I was adamant that the longer ball was good for the overall game because the longer ball made the game more fun and would help keep people in the game. Ten years ago, I wasn’t totally wrong. Today, ah, mea culpa greatest golfer of all time.
“I could see where it was going and today we’re almost there,” Nicklaus said. “Yesterday, my son Michael, who doesn’t play very much, but hits it nine miles, told me he played a 537-yard par 4 and hated the fact he had to hit a 7-iron for his second shot. That’s not golf.
“The new ball of today doesn’t help the average golfer,” he continued. “If you have a swing speed of 110 miles an hour, you become a better player than you really are. If you don’t have that swing, the ball hurts your chances.”
He’s right. The super balls are for super swing speeds only. The rest of us are left to live with our shortcomings. The moral of the story is, never argue with the greatest golfer of all time (although it was fun being a little burr under his saddle for a little while even if he really didn’t notice).
Bartender, throw some crow into the blender, puree it and I’ll have it on the rocks with water on the side.
See you on the first tee,
Jack
Having said that, would you ever imagine putting an asterisk next to Tiger’s name in a Major where Harrington wasn’t in the field? Of course not, both scenarios are ludicrous.
One thing that isn’t ludicrous is wondering how much of a factor Woods will be when he returns. Last reports are that he won’t even consider swinging a club until 2009. He’s planning his return at the 2009 Masters. Will he be a factor then? If anyone could be under those circumstances, it would be Tiger, but common sense today says bet on the Irish kid to be wearin’ of the green…jacket that is next April.
The golf world, most notably TV and the PGA Tour must consider the unthinkable. Tiger Woods may return as a mortal golfer. Knees aren’t constructed to withstand the pressure he puts on BOTH of knees in his current swing. The swing has to change. Sure he’s changed his swing before, but the changes were always to add power, not protect his body.
Tiger will always be a great golfer. He has the credentials already that have already cemented his place in golf history. Hopefully, we won’t look back at the 2008 U.S. Open and wonder what he could have been if it hadn’t have been for that knee.
****
In the past this corner has been somewhat critical of Sergio Garcia and his attitude. He has placed blame for his shortcomings in Majors on everyone but the locker room attendant. Following his runner up finish in the PGA Championship to the aforementioned Harrington, Sergio took full responsibility for his failings.
Normally, we could have counted on him blaming the terrible second shot he hit on the 16th in the final round that crossed the hazard then backed up into the water on any number of things, i.e. poor course setup, a sudden gale in his face, or the ever popular the gallery was against me. Instead, he admitted that he hit a poor shot.
That’s a start. He’s now closer than ever to having a winning attitude needed to succeed in Major championships. Unfortunately, he still can’t putt well enough to win a Major. By the way, I have a long standing rule. If a Major is won by a player using either a long putter or a belly putter, that tournament is no longer considered a Major. Both those style putters are a form of cheating. The only thing that should touch a club is the player’s hands and those hands shouldn’t be anchored by the torso.
***
Pardon me while I legend drop. I happened to bump into Jack Nicklaus at a function earlier this week and an old subject that we were polarized on was recalled. A decade ago, Jack spoke fervently about the need for the golf ball to be rolled back so that it wouldn’t go as far.
I was adamant that the longer ball was good for the overall game because the longer ball made the game more fun and would help keep people in the game. Ten years ago, I wasn’t totally wrong. Today, ah, mea culpa greatest golfer of all time.
“I could see where it was going and today we’re almost there,” Nicklaus said. “Yesterday, my son Michael, who doesn’t play very much, but hits it nine miles, told me he played a 537-yard par 4 and hated the fact he had to hit a 7-iron for his second shot. That’s not golf.
“The new ball of today doesn’t help the average golfer,” he continued. “If you have a swing speed of 110 miles an hour, you become a better player than you really are. If you don’t have that swing, the ball hurts your chances.”
He’s right. The super balls are for super swing speeds only. The rest of us are left to live with our shortcomings. The moral of the story is, never argue with the greatest golfer of all time (although it was fun being a little burr under his saddle for a little while even if he really didn’t notice).
Bartender, throw some crow into the blender, puree it and I’ll have it on the rocks with water on the side.
See you on the first tee,
Jack
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